Chaney principal fired — again

The contract for the former principal at Chaney High School has been terminated — again.

The Youngstown City School District Academic Distress Commission OK’d a resolution Thursday terminating Sharon Butler’s contract. The city school board last week had rescinded its earlier termination of her contract, saying there were some “timing issues.”

Superintendent Connie Hathorn had recommended Butler’s contract not be renewed last May, citing performance. Both the school board and the commission at that time approved the nonrenewal. Butler was principal at Chaney for a year and had served as an assistant principal for a year before that.

The resolution approved by the commission says that panel isn’t required to comply with portions of Ohio law that dictate the schedules required for termination of school personnel.

That law requires that an administrator be provided with a copy of his or her evaluation at least 60 days before any action by the board on the employee’s contract of employment.

“We advised the board that they should rescind [Butler’s nonrenewal] and probably let the commission do it” since the commission isn’t required to comply with that code section, said Joffrey Jones, commission chairman.

The commission passed two more resolutions related to action taken by the school board last week.

One was to hire John T. McMahan, former Southington schools superintendent, as the new principal at Taft Elementary School. School board members narrowly rejected McMahan, who was recommended by Hathorn, for the job last week.

The other directs the school district to accept $97,374 donated by four organizations and foundations to help pay for the continued work of the Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations.